Everyone's looking to save some cash these days, and many are skimping on their car maintenance.
That may be a bad idea for the longevity of your car, but it may not be that bad of an idea either.
A recent New York Times article says changing your car's oil at 3,000 thousand miles could be a waste of money.
You hear it all the time, change your car's oil and filter every 3,000 miles or three months. With newer cars, that may no longer be the case. Some car manufacturers now recommend that you stretch out your oil change schedule.
"I had a customer bring in a letter for a Toyota today. They are now sending them out to customers with newer vehicles. They are switching them over to a 0w20 oil and 10,000 mile or one year for service," says Glenn Predmore with State Street Lube and Maintenance in Quincy.
The reason behind the switch is to keep the cost of ownership on your car down.
"And they do that by using a better quality oil. Almost all of the new oils are synthetic blend or a pure synthetic oil," says Predmore.
But does this really save you any money. Sure, you're not spending as much money on oil changes every few months. But Glenn Predmore with State Street Lube and Maintenance tells KHQA Synthetic oil costs twice as much as conventional oil. And Predmore says there's something else to consider.
"Is your filter good enough to run that long? Most conventional filters are supposed to be replaced between every 3000 and 5000 miles," says Predmore.
Predmore says some customers who own newer cars can just change the filter and top off with oil. That way you're not changing the oil as frequently. When it comes down to whether this is good for you, it's best to check your owner's manual. Predmore says to go by the severe service recommendation in the owner's manual.
A lot of this depends on how you drive your car.
If you spend a lot of time driving in town, doing a lot of stopping and going, you'll need to change your oil more frequently because it's getting used more.
If you spend a lot of time on the highway, the oil isn't used as much lubricating your car's engine, so you could probably change the oil every 5000 to 7000 miles.
Another thing to keep in mind, when you have your oil changed, technicians also check other vital fluids for your car, your windshield wipers, and your lights.
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